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CHAPEL HILL — UNC coach Scott Forbes said last week after his Tar Heels only hit five home runs in their season-opening five-game home stand that the power would come. It hasn’t taken long for No. 13 Carolina to prove him — as Roy Williams might say — frickin’ right.
After three consecutive ACC victories, North Carolina is up to 45th in the NET rankings and improving its NCAA tournament resume with Selection Sunday a week from Sunday. The Tar Heels (19–11, 11–8 ACC) have done what they can control with wins over Notre Dame, Virginia and Florida State and have a chance for their second Quad 1 win Saturday at home against Duke, which is 24th in the NET rankings.
DURHAM — You couldn’t blame Duke’s players if they did a few double-takes Sunday during their senior-day women’s basketball game against North Carolina. The overwhelming majority of the sellout crowd of 9,314 fans in Cameron Indoor Stadium wore Duke blue, but the folks in Carolina blue were loud and all but nullified the Blue Devils’ home-court advantage. The 45–41 win completed UNC’s second consecutive regular-season sweep of its rivals.
Playing at Florida State is like a trip to the dentist. You have to go periodically; it’s not enjoyable, you’ve had some bad experiences, and you just hope to get out of there without some bad news. Carolina headed to Tallahassee on Monday night for an all-loss, no-win game in which a victory did little to solidify their place on the right side of the bubble, but a defeat at the 9–20 Seminoles would just about doom their NCAA tournament chances.
Carolina has a history of nightmare games at Tallahassee, but Monday’s visit was more like a dream — although there were some restless moments in the last six minutes. Sure, the Tar Heels were too sloppy at times, and the near collapse with an 18-point lead cut to four was discouraging. But they further made their case to make the NCAA tournament field by snapping a three-game losing streak at the Leon County Civic Center with a 77–66 victory, their third in a row.
North Carolina moved up four spots to No. 18 in the AP Top 25 women’s basketball poll heading into this week’s ACC tournament at the Greensboro Coliseum. The Tar Heels (20–9) rebounded from a heartbreaking 61–59 senior night loss Thursday against No. 9 Virginia Tech by ruining the senior day for Duke (24–5) on Sunday 45–41.
Cameron Johnson had his best game as a Brooklyn Net and hit a huge late 3-pointer, but it wasn’t enough to get a win at Atlanta. Johnson scored 27 points and tied the game on a 3-pointer with 7.8 seconds left, but Trae Young hit a buzzer-beating jumper to lift the Hawks to a 129–127 victory Sunday.
After sweeping No. 11 Duke in the regular season, No. 22 North Carolina is a win away from taking on the Blue Devils at the ACC tournament in Greensboro for their third meeting this season. The No. 7-seed Tar Heels (20–9, 11–7 ACC) will need to win a second-round game to make that happen. They play at the Greensboro Coliseum at 6 p.m. Thursday against the winner of Wednesday’s 3:30 first-round game between No. 15-seed Pittsburgh (10–29, 3–15) and No. 10 Clemson (16–14, 7–11).
DURHAM — In a torrid defensive battle, No. 22 North Carolina broke through with the game on the line in the fourth quarter and won the game at the line. The Tar Heels rode a 14–2 fourth-quarter run to their second consecutive regular-season sweep of Duke, making all nine free-throw attempts in the final period.
Well, that was a tale of two halves. After outlasting Notre Dame in South Bend on Wednesday on a season-low shooting effort, UNC came out red-hot against suddenly slumping Virginia, knocking down nearly 60% of its shots in the first half, including nine 3-pointers on 16 attempts. The oft-maligned Pete Nance led the way with a 4-4 effort from three, and the Tar Heels built a 16-point halftime lead.
Hear what UNC’s RJ Davis, Armando Bacot, Caleb Love and Pete Nance had to say after the win over Virginia.
CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina may have shot itself off the bubble in one evening. Where the Tar Heels go from here, as always with this team, is hard to predict. But their 71–63 victory over No. 6 Virginia Saturday at the Smith Center for an elusive Quad 1 win that won’t get erased at least puts them in a better position to make the NCAA tournament.
Neither Harrison Barnes nor Coby White had their best games on Friday night, but both were on the right side as their teams made NBA history. Barnes scored 11 points on a tough shooting night, but his Sacramento Kings outlasted the host Los Angeles Clippers 176–175 in double overtime. It was the second game in league history with both teams scoring at least 170 points.
There was outstanding starting pitching, drama at the end, and an atmosphere worthy of the postseason before a record crowd to see two in-state, highly ranked teams battle. No. 11 East Carolina (4–1) broke loose for six eighth-inning runs after seven shutout innings from UNC starter Max Carlson and held on for a 6–5 victory Friday over the No. 12 Tar Heels in front of 6,003 fans at Clark-LeClair Stadium in Greenville.
Hear what UNC coach Hubert Davis had to say ahead of the Tar Heels’ home game Saturday night against Virginia.
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